Feeling lost and hopeless out of education as a games artist
Im posting this at a stage where im kinda lost, i always wanted to and still want to be a character artist...but out there is just nothing..
i have applied for so many jobs and nothing...
ill post my portfolio, but i just cant seem to improve. its a harsh cycle, i cant get better so i feel down, i feel down because i cant do better.
i have applied for so many jobs and nothing...
ill post my portfolio, but i just cant seem to improve. its a harsh cycle, i cant get better so i feel down, i feel down because i cant do better.
Replies
You picked the hardest part first. That's why you are stuck. Character design is nothing that you start with. You may arrive at it at one point, at the top of the mountain. When you really want to do character design, and not just model from a concept, then eagerly learn anatomy. And learn to draw. That's the mountain that you need to climb first. This is not done in days or months. And it requires lots of time and talent. Which you both may or may not have. Definitely throw out the human concepts. They drag your portfolio down.
When you want to improve in the technical part, then start with hard ops stuff. Make small props, and make them looking good. A car gives you more than enough trouble already, that's too big. Pick easy things. Simple things. Things that can be done in a few hours, to learn the basics, and to improve quickly. A tea pot with proper shading and rendering, a pencil, a ballpoint pen, a glass. And always finish it. And once you can do this stuff to a degree then you can start with organic things.
And learn to work from references and concepts. It's a big misconception that a 3d artist also has to be the one who makes the concepts. Most of the time he does not. Your concepts sucks, since you still struggle with anatomy. And so the result sucks too. Use great references, and you will produce better results.
hth and Kind regards
Tiles
If you are going to just focus on character modeling practice character bust instead of trying to do a complete character. Then focus on modeling parts like say the ear, nose, hands.
You need to model, UV then texture and see how it goes.
@Tiles you can be honest without being horrible like this. Your goal should be to help people while wanting them to still make art. Sometimes tough love can help some personalities, but it's not something I'd risk on a stranger.
@jcourtchandler
Welcome to the journey!
The fact that you are posting and looking for answers that feel out of grasp is a great step, and it's the #1 most important personality trait to being able to make it.
In general people are right, you'll need to start doing more studies. In general i think people have the misconception that improving at art is just about learning more theory, but really what's happening, is that as we improve, our ability to perceive what things really look like, and the reality of what our work looks like is what is improving.
The reason why we must copy and do studies, is that it gives our brains an opportunity to compare our skills to what's in front of us in the most direct way possible. it sets up a feedback loop that lets us ratchet up our understanding.
If I was in your position, I would start to do some slow studies, which I alternate between imagination work. Basically copy some very good work, then next drawing, try and apply some things you picked up from that study, then do another study. This way, you are picking up on new information, and then directly applying it. Your focus is to always push your quality, and make every piece you make, your best yet, and focus on perceiving something you never could see every single time.
Good luck!
I could tell you to keep it up and you'll get there eventually, but me putting a sugar coating on things will not help you at all in achieving your goal of becoming a hireable character artist
I recommend this mentor,
https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothée-mathon-41896b158/
Though you would still need to work on fundamentals before a mentor accepts you.
For this I recommend Feng Zhu's channel, there's a whole lot of tutorials there,
https://www.youtube.com/@FZDSCHOOL/search?query=character
Also here on polycount artists are looking to get hired by AAA/AA/Indie companies so there is a certain monotony to what is expected in a concept artist/designers portfolio as far as fundamentals and foundation goes.
Its a bar to reach, and that bar is usually decided depending on current industry trends.
the UBISOFT NXT showcase is a good reference to see the kind of work that students would submit for apprenticeships, likely the same would work for internships.
https://toronto.ubisoft.com/next/
You can check out the concept art brief and also look through the submissions which are on youtube and winner submissions.
I would only use them as a starting reference. The NXT showcase judging criteria isn't standardised and there can be a wide variation on what a submission is considered a winner from year to year.
There is a lack of transparency in choosing winners and hiring in the game industry is subject to many uncontrollable factors so the emphasis should be on the art samples to better understand where you currently are and how far you could go.
For your art as it currently stands, if you want it to gain traction, you can. You need to learn to market it to the right audience and be consistent in posting regularly to keep the attention going.
A lot of content can be appealing to a variety of internet users so if you want to explore this route perhaps post on instagram or try to build a product around your art as it stands.
Like I would pay for a game with art like this. To me its intriguing even if it isn't objectively good (the objective being getting a job in the game industry)
Some examples of games that have done exceptionally well because their art/gameplay had personality and the developer wasn't trying to meet a normalised expectation.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/389510/Wild_Animal_Racing/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/516750/My_Summer_Car/
This is a peculiar youtube series that I wish had gained traction. I found it because the creator had submitted one of the shorts for the ubisoft NXT showcase.
Like its horrifying, but blatanly so, so I love it
And one must not forget the work of David O Reilly
You should find actual courses online that explain what concept art is and find general art courses that teach you about the fundamentals. Check out Schoolism with Bobby Chiu. He has a number of artists who teaches courses on these topics and do a good job of it. I can attest to this because I've bought his courses before.
https://schoolism.com/
There is another one I've seen that looks good called Visign, though I haven't purchased anything from it so I have no idea if the instruction quality is good. Still, it looks good and might be worth a look.
https://visign.com/courses
But yeah if I were you, I'd not worry about applying for jobs. Instead just focus on improving to get much better and when your work starts to look like what currently working concept artists are doing, then apply.
https://discover.therookies.co/2025/02/08/working-as-a-senior-concept-artist-in-game-development/
Make learning anatomy your long-term goal. Check if there sketch meetups or live drawing classes in your area.
Translating your own character designs into 3d might help you to identify questions the design should answer. When doing 3d, could start with simple, lowpoly, diffuse only stuff, finish projects, increase complexity as you go.
"Right now your work is utter thrash tier", "You suck", "get good"? I think you're off the mark here @bayonetricochet
It’s certainly ok to offer incisive feedback, but please consider the audience before firing both barrels.
I get it, this is Polycount, notorious for the hot take. Just consider who you’re talking with, and how it’s likely to land. We all want to help, after all.
I've said things like that, regretted it and gone back to apologise face to face on more than one occasion and I'm a complete arsehole.
Even if some of the points made were valid, it wasn't done respectfully - I think you're on the right side of history with this one
AND this all transpired AFTER we already had some sparring of words that were a bit harsh. The irony here is that many of us are career professionals, who have taught many people.
If somebody is going to get a fire under their ass to get good, the first step is to seek out external opinions and advice. It hurts to see people sticking their head out and then getting bashed immediate. Posting here could have been the first step for them to go down the path of intense effort and study.
example 1:
example 2:
example 3:
Wish you the very best!